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Attraction

One of the things I’ve spent a lot of time contemplating since my last relationship ended is attraction. What causes attraction? What creates that chemistry that attracts us to someone? What causes our heartstrings to go “ping”?

I initially had a crush on the last guy I was in a relationship with. He was kind and loving. He was very attracted to me. I was hoping that the instant attraction he felt for me would eventually be reciprocated on my part. I’ve had deeper attraction grow in other relationships after a few dates when I was initially hesitant. That attraction didn’t happen, though. The few feelings I had from the crush rapidly disappeared. That highly powerful sexual desire never grew for me. It just wasn’t there.

Yet with the very next date I went on, I was attracted to my date almost instantly. There was something magical there. Midway through the date, he said something (about a train, certainly not a romantic statement), and my heart felt like it had been struck by lightning. Why was this man attracting me so much when the previous man had not?

Obviously we can’t control whom we fall in love with. We can’t control who falls in love with us either. It all just happens. I wish it wasn’t so inexplicable, though. What makes the sparks fly? Why are we so much more attracted to certain people than others? Why is love so complicated?